Chris Lombardi puts defense and security under the spotlight, as he shares his takes on recent NATO and EU cooperation and provides insight into the company’s own long-term strategic partnerships in Europe.

Three trends are currently driving the global electricity sector: decarbonization, decentralization and differentiation. Utilities are making significant contributions to mitigate carbon emissions, while a technology revolution is …

Participants in the meeting, hosted by the UK presidency next Monday (9March), hope it will enable them to put some flesh on the bones of aEuropean Commission report on biodiversity published at the beginning oflast month.

“The British have said they want to start building on this strategy as soonas possible,” said an official from the Commission’s Directorate-Generalfor the environment (DGXI), which drafted the report.

Biodiversity is a term used to describe the range of plant and animalspecies which exists in any given area and how they interact with eachother. Such diversity is seen as essential to maintain a balancedecosystem.

DGXI officials warn that one of the biggest threats to biodiversity in theEU is modern farming. They say that the agro-industry has not onlydestroyed many natural habitats by creating huge, easy-to-plough fields,but also that its use of high-yield commercially produced crops has meantthe gradual disappearance of many traditional plant varieties.

The Commission has pledged to draft an action plan over the next two years.

“We need to come up with some clear ideas on how to strengthen thebiodiversity of rural areas,” explained one expert.

Officials say that the Commission’s report has not been met with outrighthostility from the agriculture lobby, as might have been expected. “Farmersare in a way sympathetic to these sorts of ideas. They say they have beenpushed towards intensive methods in recent years,” said one.

However, how the farming lobby will react if the action plan looks likeendangering farmers’ livelihoods is another matter. “We certainly think itis an interesting approach as long as it does not threaten the financialinterests of farmers,” said a spokeswoman for EU farmers’ association COPA.

While agriculture is perhaps the largest single sector in which theCommission believes biodiversity needs to be protected, the institution hasalso identified other areas of concern. DGXI argues that the EU’s policieson fishing, regional aid, transport and tourism should all take greateraccount of biodiversity. It also points to the need for member states toupdate their rules on forest management.

Environmental pressure groups have given the plans a cautious welcome, butwarn that the report must be followed up with real action. “The devil is inthe detail with this report. The strategy obliges the Commission to draw upconcrete action plans and the real test will be to see just how concretethey are,” said a World-Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) spokesman.